Post 71: Friends

First up today is the mystery of  the plant on my balcony that a friend suggested was a the Lachenalia, unusually flowering in Autumn. Another friend contacted me this morning to suggest it is in fact a Aloe.  I've checked it out and it is Aloe ciliaris. Many thanks to both friends for their help. I love the way information gets shared in the blogging community.














I had another identification challenge when a new bird came to investigate my balcony (Yes, that is two photos of the one bird). It ate a few grains of seed, but not many.  This, I think is because it feeds on insects and worms and there were none on offer.

This is a magpie lark or peewee. It is a smaller relative of the piping shrike, or white-backed crow shrike, which appears as the emblem on the South Australian flag, but has never been officially declared the State bird,

It had a good explore of the balcony before taking off.

My two doves have settled into a daily routine. The smaller, (I'm assuming femaile) waits on the edge of the roof, calling for me to get up in the morning. More often than not she stays there while I throw down some seed and comes for some of it as soon as I go inside. She returns several times during the day. The larger (I'm assuming male) comes around midday for his share. 


My songbird embroidery was not quite dry this morning, so I set to work to make what I could of the bag without it. I got the back, sides and bottom of the bag machined, the handles and the lining. 







By early afternoon the blocked piece was dry, so I added it in and completed the job. I had to do a bit of adjustment to the lining.

Here it is in all it's splendour.










I realised as I blocked it that a red thread had run. I managed to prevent disaster, but have been slowly and carefully removing the offending thread - the over-dyed Mossipots that I was so pleased with. I haven't removed it all, but may do so.


It's a decent bag.



The news from Jennifer in hospital in Perth is pretty good. Her two tests for Covid19 infection were negative. Jennifer has her piece of get-out-of-jail paper! The tracheotomy is out. She can speak softly and croakily, but should not be doing too much of it. She stood up beside her bed several times and a physio is helping her sit in a chair. Tomorrow she moves to a respiratory ward where she will have a physio program. Doctors are saying 4 more weeks in hospital. Susan can visit her tomorrow - her first visitor since she went into hospital a month ago today. I don't have exact dates, but I think she has been in ICU for close on 24 days and with a respirator for probably 20. She has been the longest time of any patient in the Royal Perth Hospital Covid ICU. She's alive, standing, sitting - even speaking - and Covid-free.

I had bubbles tonight to celebrate, quietly, while enjoying a Live Stitch with Phillipa and Laura Turnbull and  3 of my fellow Stratford retreaters. Phillipa was in Cumbria, Laura in Spain, Genevieve in Brussels, Margaret in Brisbane and Tamara in California. There was lots to talk about. Those who are working are stretched, keeping families and fellow workers well and operational in addition to their own work. It's easy to make no time for your own sanity. No one expects this to be over soon. We all have at least one piece of stitching going and lots of stitching hopes and dreams.  There was more talking than stitching but I did tack papers to 30 I inch hexies. It lasted two hours instead of one - and worth every minute.

This is my tribe. Not all of it - but a vital part. To borrow a term from a local funeral company advertisement, it nourishes the soul.

This post is  a bit short on photographs. Two parcels were successfully delivered to me today. One contained two cooler-weather tops and the other a book. I had forgotten I had ordered it, second-hand from England. It's the Martha Grimes detective novel set in Stratford around the Black Swan Inn, where Melody and I had a drink on our second day in the town, before the retreat began. It's years since I read it The book isn't available electronically in Australia, because of historical publishing agreements and it's out of print, so I ordered a second-hand print copy

How appropriate that it should arrive today!

So much to be thankful for.

Post 69: chair and songbird

The Mellerstain firescreen was quite dry this morning so first job was to unpin it from the block and try it on my chair. I then had breakfast and set about stitching it on to the chair cover.















I'm getting better at taking the cover off the chair (and, fortunately, better too, at putting it back on!).

I then needed to pin it on, without wrinkles and stitch it down.

So here it is in situ.




For anyone who has not seen the chair before, here is the front, back and other side.





The plan is to put the Aesop frame on the back. I've also decided that I need to work a mirror image of the Muncaster Oranges to put on the other side of centre inside back.

I also need to work some leaves and vines on the seat cushion. It will look good when finished and its a lot of fun.














My friend Robin in Katoomba tells me that the plant I photographed yesterday is a lachenalia, originally from South Africa. I checked it out, and it certainly seems to be part of this family. I wasn't able to find a photo of one so tall and vine-like, but it certainly looks like part of that family.

I worked for the remainder of the day on the song bird. I enjoyed working the tail feathers in the linen thread.


Another message today was from a friend who is also a Midsomer Murders fan. She sent me this photo from her last trip to England. Now how come I didn't think of making this visit?











I managed stop stitching to catch the sunset.

Jennifer has had a 12 hour period withouttusing the ventilator, and tonight will begin a 24 hour trial without it. If that is successful, doctors will check that her vocal chords are not unduly swollen.  If they are satisfied they will remove the ventilator and also the equipment from the tracheotomy. This means no vocaliser being inserted and the expectation that she will be able to speak for herself. If it goes to plan, and the Covid tests she has had are negative, she will be out of ICU in 4-5 days.

This is good news. The caution is that she is likely to spend at least another 42 days in hospital, either in a respiratory ward with a physio, or in a rehab hospital, taking small steps to full recovery. Jennifer is, fortunately, a trouper.

I'm continuing to stitch the song bird. I have a medical appointment tomorrow, but I now have only the long thin tail feathers and the legs and feet to go. I think I should finish the embroidery  tomorrow and can look at construction of the bag on Thursday.


I'm not convinced I have the colours right on the tail feathers so far. A variegated thread might have been better on those dark feathers.


It will look better or worse in the morning!

Post 68 : Flu Vac

In spite of it being a a cool, dull day, this succulent was brightly blooming this morning. It wasn't there a week ago.  I don't think I've seen it bloom before.

I spent much of the morning finishing Richard Anderson's Australian crime novel, Boxed then working on the wing of the song bird. In the end I took it out of the hoop and held it in my hand. The wheatear stitch was much better worked by scooping rather than stabbing, and I'm still programmed to 'never scoop in a hoop'.

This afternoon I had my flu vac. My doctor had suggested I wait until May because I had a booster in February before going to England. The surgery, which is in a house, runs vaccination clinics. You make an appointment, then sit of the verandah on one of three chairs (spaced well apart) until called into the front room where a young doctor, checking a computer, asks some questions and a nurse administers the vaccination. The nurse commented that I'd better come back for a pneumonia shot. No, says the doctor, she's had one. Nurse smiles at me and says 'That's good. So all you need to worry about is tetanus.' 'No', says the doctor, 'She's had that too'.  'I'm pretty conscientious about vaccinations' say I.

The nurse looks as if she's won the lottery and says, 'I could hug you!'.
Of course she doesn't. 
It doesn't take much to make a nurse happy at the moment.

While I was at North Adelaide for the flu vac, I called at Romeo's Foodland. I was surprised at how easy it was to shop.  Signs about sanitation and distancing, but no policing - and no obvious problem. I got my muesli and a salmon fillet for my dinner. Metropolitan Fresh Fruit and Veg was also open - and had Bravo apples!

I really enjoyed being able to choose what I wanted - which wasn't much. I had antiseptic wipes to use before and after each transaction. I might make further short shopping excursions here.

There were plenty of cars parked around North Adelaide, but not many people on the golf course,



It is quite strange to see all the restaurants, cafes and hotels closed in a place that is normally buzzing with people eating and drinking coffee.












Similarly, in the city, Frome Rd, which I drive down  to get home, was pretty much deserted at 4pm on a Monday afternoon.


Jennifer has had the pressure from her ventilator reduce further. Tomorrow it will be connected but not operating. If that goes well it will be removed completely. They took a direct test for coronavirus today and will do another tomorrow.  If both are negative she will be able to be free of quarantine. She was too tired today to read or colour in.





I spent the rest of the day working on the songbird, back in the hoop. I might go over some of the variegated silk. but will wait to see how it looks with the tail feathers in. I'm really liking the linen thread.